A prelude is a short piece, usually of an introductory character. This prelude pairs with a "fugue" and both are in the important book of preludes and fugues "The Well-Tempered Clavier" (volume 1) by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750). This prelude is known to have been used as the basis for the composition of an Ave Maria attributed to C. Gounod (1818 - 1893). Again, we present here only an early excerpt.